John Ridgewell was found guilty

John Ridgewell, 59, set fire to all seven passenger carriages at the mile-long Teifi Valley Railway near Llandysul, Carmarthenshire.

He watched from a platform as firemen tackled the blaze in front of a crowd of narrow-gauge train buffs.

The damage was estimated to be �50,000, the jury at Haverfordwest Crown Court was told.

Ridgewell denied arson but he was found guilty on Friday following a trail.

The jury heard he committed the offence after falling out with other members of the society.

He used oily rags, meant for cleaning the engines, to start the fire, and forensic tests revealed fibres from curtains in the carriages were on his anorak.

Ridgewell, of Rhyd y Feinog, Hermon, near Cardigan, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.